Pilot clip for curtain rods



April 3, 1934. F, A, BREWER Er AL PILOT CLIP FOR CURTAIN RODS Filed OCC. l'7, 1932 WMA/5@ M Patented Apr. 3, 1934 PILOT CLIP FOR CURTAIN RODS Francis A. Brewer and Blanche Schlachter,

Syracuse, N. Y.

Application October 17, 1932, Serial No. 638,172

2 Claims. (Cl. 223-38) This invention relates to a pilot clip adapted to be placed over and upon one end of a curtain supporting rod or bar to facilitate the insertion of said bar into the hem of a lace or other curtain or rather to permit the hem of the curtain to be easily and quickly drawn over and upon the rod or bar without interruption and also without liability of breaking the threads of the curtain.

These curtain supporting rods or bars are usually made in sections adapted to telescopioally slide one upon the other to compensate for variations in widths of the windows or doors over which the curtains are usually hung and it, therefore becomes necessary to assemble the curtain and its supporting rod telesoopically one upon the other from one end of one of the sections.

AThese rods or bars are usually made in two forms, one of substantially flat cross section and the other cylindrical in cross section, and the main object of the present invention is to enable one and the same pilot clip to be placed over and upon one end of the sections of either form with equal facility.

Another object is to provide a clip of this character from a single piece of sheet metal or equivalent material bent longitudinally into U-shaped from and to provide the opposite arms thereof with centrally disposed outwardly arched portions and flat portions at opposite sides of the outwardly arched portions so that when it is desired to use the clip with a cylindrical bar section, the end thereof may be readily inserted into or between the arched portions, or, on the other hand, if the rod or bar is substantially flat the clip may be placed over and upon the end thereof with equal facility. Y

Another object is to flare the free ends of the clip outwardly to enable it to be more easily placed upon the end of the rod or bar.

Another object is to provide the opposite lengthwise edges of both arms of the clip with inturned flanges, not only for reinforcing purposes, but also to hold the clip against lateral displacement from the bar and particularly when used in connection with the flat barso as to guard the fabric of the hem of the curtain from contact with the end edges of said bar.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved pilot clip showing by dotted lines one end of a flat bar upon which the curtain is adapted to be mounted and also showing by dotted lines the hem of a lace or other curtain or drapery.

Figure 2 is an enlarged edge view of the same clip.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 4 4, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional View taken on line 5-5, Figure 1, showing the flat curtain supporting rod therein.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 6 6, Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional View of the clip similar to that shown in Figure 5 as mounted upon the end of a cylindrical rod or bar.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional View of the clip and cylindrical bar taken on line 8-8, Figure 7.

As illustrated, thispilot clip is adapted to be mounted'upon one end of a substantially flat curtain supporting rod or bar a, as shown by dotted lines in Figure l and by full lines in Figures 5 and 6, or upon the end of a cylindrical rod L or bar b, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, for piloting the end of said rod or bar through a hem or loop c of a curtain or drapery C, as shown by dotted lines in Figure l, as about to be drawn over and upon the rod or bar a.

The pilot clip as 1 forming the subject matter of the present invention preferably comprises a single piece of sheet metal bent into U-shaped form and having its opposite arms provided wth central outwardly arched portions 2 and opposite flat portions 3 at opposite sides of the outwardly arched portions 2.

The outwardly arched portions 2 extend from the free ends of the opposite arms of the clip toward the base thereof and are preferably curved outwardly about a common center in which the radius is approximately equal to but slightly less than that of the cylindrical rod or bar b upon which it is adap-ted to be placed.

The opposite arms of the clip are preferably tensioned toward each other sufliciently to cause them to frictionally engage the rod or bar when the clip is placed thereon and thereby to hold the clip against accidental displacement during the operation of telescopioally assembling the rod or bar and hem c of the curtain telescopically one upon the other in the manner shown in Figures '7 and 8.

The normal space between the free ends of the at portions 3 of the opposite arms of the clip is slightly less than the outer transverse dimensions of the flat bar a so that when the clip is placed over and upon the end of the bar its free edges will frictionally engage the same to hold the clip against accidental displacement therefrom, as shown more clearly in Figures 5 and 6.

The opposite longitudinal edges of both of the arms of the clip are provided with inturned flanges 4 which are continued around the opposite sides of the base of the clip for reinforcing purposes and also to cover the adjacent end and corners of the nat bar a or the end of the round bar d to prevent contact of the fabric of the hem c with said bar until the hem has been drawn thereover beyond the clip 1 as shown more clearly in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7.

In Figures 2, Kl, 6 and 8 are shown the free ends of the opposite arms or" the clip as flared outwardly at 5 to facilitate the placing of the clip over and upon the end or the bar without in any way interfering with the free passage of the clip through the loop or hem c, it being understood that as soon as the curtain is placed over and upon the bar a or b, the kclip 1 may be removed to enable the sections of the bar to be telescopically connected one with the other in the usual manner.

The clip formed in the manner described produces lengthwise openings 6 in opposite sides thereof extending the major portion of the length of the curtain so as to allow the free ends of the opposite arms to spring laterally.

In other words, if the opposite arms of the clip should not closely engage the outer faces of the adjacent portions of the rod or bar when mounted thereon they can be readily compressed by hand to produce the desired friction when placed in 2 operative position upon the rod or bar.

In order that the clip may be readily inserted into the loop or hem c of the curtain, its base end as 7 is arched outwardly lengthwise and its adjacent end corners as 7 are also rounded so as to prevent a smooth unbroken surface from the apex of the curved end 7 to theA outer faces of the flanges/1. v

It will also be noted that the junctions of the opposite arms of the clip wth the base thereof are also rounded to present smooth unbroken surfaces and thereby further facilitates the entrance of the clip into the hem c.

Operation When using this clip, it is placedby hand over and upon one end of the rod or bar a or b after which ythe. bar with the clip thereon may be threaded through the hem c of the curtain C o1' the hem may be drawn over the clip and upon the bar without interruption and without liability of breaking any of the threads of the curtain fabric.

As soon as the curtain is properly drawn over and upon the rod or bar beyond the clip, the latter may be withdrawn and the two sections of the bar may then be telescopically coupled ,in the usual manner with the curtains thereon ready for use.

rlilhe clip, constructed in the manner described, is particularly simple, practical and eicient for both formsrof curtain supporting rods and may be manufactured and sold at an extremely low cost, but obviously some change may be made in the detail construction thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. A one-piece, U-shaped sheet metal pilot clip for nat or round curtain supporting rods and having its opposite arms spaced some distance apart to permit them to be sprung toward each other for closer frictional engagement with curtain rods of different sizes, said clip having'the central portions of its opposite arms arched out-- wardly and other portions at opposite sides of the arched portions substantially flat, the opposite edges of said arms being provided with inturned iianges, said arms having their free ends ared outwardly.

2. A one-piece U-shaped metal pilot clip for fiat or round curtain-supporting rods, said clip being open at one end and closed at its other end, the intermediate portions of the opposite arms of the clip being provided with outwardly arched portions concentric with a common axis extending lengthwise of the clip midway between the arms for receiving a round rod, the portions of said arms at opposite sides of the arched portions being relatively narrower than said arched portions for receiving the ends of a substantially flat rod and having lengthwise slots in the outer Wall thereof extending from the open end of the clip toward theclosed end whereby the free ends of the arms may be sprung toward and from each other to conform to different thicknesses of at rods.

FRANCIS A. BREWER. BLANCHE SCI-ILACHTER. 

